Shower head valve



Nov. 14, 1967 A. L. CAMP 3,352,320.

SHOWER HEAD VALVE Filed Jan. 14, 1965 /2 /6 INVENTOR 41/52 p L. CAMP 4rr02/vE/s United States Patent 3,352,320 SHOWER HEAD VALVE Alfred L. Camp, Brea, Califi, assignor to Irving Terry, Los Angeles, Calif. Filed Jan. 14, 1965, Ser. No. 425,518 3 Claims. (Cl. 137-604) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A valve intended to be installed between a supply pipe and a shower head and having a bottom inlet to receive the neck of a bottle containing a perfume or the like; the valve including a manually rotatable valve core for causing water only to flow through the shower head or causing perfume to be entrained in the water.

This invention relates to shower head valves, that is to valves located immediately upstream from a shower head and included in the objects of this invention are:

First, to provide a shower head valve having means for connection to a container for perfume or the like and is readily manipulated to permit flow of water only or to cause perfume to be entrained in the shower water.

Second, to provide a shower head valve which permits full flow for showering purposes and reduced flow when entraining perfume to minimize wastage and which may be adjusted between maximum and minimum flow without entraining fluid, if desired.

Third, to provide a perfume dispensing shower head, wherein the perfume or the like is supplied from an easily replaced disposable container.

With the above and other objects in view as may appear hereinafter, the references directed to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of the shower head valve shown installed on a line leading to a shower head;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of the shower head valve taken substantially through 22 of FIGURE 3 and showing fragmentarily a bottle connected thereto for the supply of perfume or the like;

FIGURE 3 is a partial top view, partial sectional view taken through 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an end view taken from 4-4 of FIG- URE 5; and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken through 5-5 of FIGURE 4 and corresponding to FIGURE 2 with the valve shown in its aspirating position.

Specification The shower head valve includes a valve body I having a bore or flow passage 2 therethrough. The inlet end is provided with internal screw threads 3 and the outlet end is externally screw threaded as indicated by 4. The inlet end is adapted to be connected to a supply pipe 5 and the outlet end is connected to a shower stem 6 which terminates in a shower head 7.

The bore 2 of the valve body 1 is intersected by a transverse socket 8 of larger diameter than the bore 2. The base of the socket is intersected by a small eccentrically located bore 9 disposed downstream from the axis of the socket 8.

The underside of the valve body is provided with a downwardly directed boss 10 having an internally screw threaded counter-bore 11 which communicates with the offset bore 9 in axial alignment therewith.

A container 12 having an externally screw threaded neck 13 is adapted to be secured in the counter-bore 11. A dispensing fitting 14 extends into the bore 9 and into the neck of the bottle and is provided intermediate its ends with a sealing flange 15 interposed between the upper "ice extremity of the neck 13 and a shoulder formed at the inner end of the counter-bore 11. The dispensing fitting is provided with a small bore 16 and is connected at its lower end to a tube 17 which extends to the bottom of the container 12. The upper portion of the fitting 14 above the flange 15 is provided with an O-ring 18 which engages the side walls of the bore 9 and with an axially directed O-ring 19 which protrudes slightly into the bottom end of the socket 8.

The socket 8 receives a valve core 20 which is cylindrical and is provided with O-rings 21 and 22 located above and below the bore 2. The upper and lower portions of the valve core are connected by a relatively narrow centrally disposed web 23 so dimensioned that when the web is disposed in alignment with the bore 2 as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the valve core does not appreciably obstruct the flow of water. The web 23 is provided with an orifice 24 which when the web is at right angles to the flow passage or bore 2 as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, forms a constriction in the flow passage.

At the downstream side of the Web 23 when the valve core 20 is in the position shown in FIGURE 5, there is provided a small ledge 25 which is intersected by an aspirator passage 26 eccentrically located with respect to the valve core the same distance as the axis of the offset bore 9 and therefore aligns with the bore provided in the dispensing fitting 14.

The upper end of the valve core 20 is provided with a handle 27.

Operation of the shower head valve is as follows:

In the normal use of the shower head valve, the valve core 20 is in the position shown in FIGURES 2 and 3 and the aspirator passage 26 is out of alignment with the bore 16 in the dispensing fitting 14. When it is desired to entrain perfume or soap or other fluid into the flow passage 2, the valve core 20 is turned at right angle to the position shown in FIGURE 2 so as to bring the aspirator passage 26 into alignment with the dispensing fitting. Water, on flowing through the orifice 24, creates a vacuum on the downstream side thereof so as to draw fluid from the container 12.

The orifice 24 may be dimensioned so that when in use the volome of water discharging from the shower head is reduced substantially from the normal supply of water. This is, however, dependent upon the setting of the valves which precede the shower head valve. Such valves regulate the temperature as well as the volume. If it is desired to reduce the volume without the introduction of fluid from the container 12 the valve core may be rotated in the opposite direction placing the aspirator passage 26 upstream from the web 23 and out of alignment with the dispensing fitting 15. In utilizing the shower head valve for volume control, the temperature of the water issuing from the shower head is not changed.

While a particular embodiment of this invention has been shown and described, it is not intended to limit the same to the details of the construction set forth, but, instead, the invention embraces such changes, modifications and equivalents of the various parts and their relationships as come within the purview of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A shower head valve, comprising:

(a) a valve body having an inlet, an outlet, a flow passage therebetween, a valve core socket traversing in said flow passage and an eccentrically located port extending axially from the bottom of said socket;

(b) a valve core rotatable in said socket and including a web movable between a position coplanar with the axis of said flow passage and a position at right angles thereto, said web having an orifice therein, adapted to align with said flow passage, said valve core having (c) and means for supplying a fluid to said eccentric port for flow through said aspirator passage and entrainment in water flowing through said orifice.

2. A shower head valve, comprising: (a) a valve body having an inlet, an outlet, a flow passage therebetween, a valve core socket traversing said flow passage, an eccentrically located port intersecting the bottom of said socket and extending downwardly through said valve body, and a container attachment means at the lower end of said valve body;

(b) a valve core rotatable in said socket and including a web movable between a position coplanar with the axis of said flow passage and a position at right angles thereto, said web having an orifice therein adapted to align with said flow passage, said valve core having a cylindrically shaped base portion sealingly received in the bottom of said socket with an eccentrically located axially extending aspirator passage formed therein at thedownstream side of said Web adjacent said orifice, in the region of negative pressure said aspirator passage being movable on rotation of said valve core, into and out of registry with said eccentric port to alternately establish and interrupt communication between said port and the flow passage;

(c) a fluid container having a discharge end for con nection by said attachment means to said valve body;

(d) a dispensing fitting in the discharge end of said conthereby to dispense fluid through said aspirator pas-- sage when said aspirator passage is in registry with said dispensing fitting;

(e) and means for venting said container to permit discharge of its contents through said aspirator passage.

3. A shower head valve, comprising:

(a) a valve body having an inlet, an outlet, a flow passage therebetween, a valve core socket traversing in said flow passage and an eccentrically located port extending axially from the bottom of said socket;

(b) a valve core rotatable in said socket and including a web movable between a position coplanar with the axis of said flow passage and a position at right angles thereto, said web having an orifice therein, adapted to align with said flow passage, said valve core having a cylindrically shaped base portion sealingly received in the bottom of said socket with an eccentrically located axially extending aspirator passage formed therein at the downstream side of said web adjacent said orifice in the region of negative pressure, said aspirator passage being movable on rotation of said valve core to alternately etablish and interrupt communication between said port and the flow passage;

(c) a dispensing fitting having a central bore and an end dimensioned to fit said eccentric port, and con- 1 front said valve core for registry with said aspirator passage when said orifice is aligned with said flow passage; (d) and means for supplying fluid to said dispensing fitting.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,084,210 6/1937 Meacham et a1. 251-121 X 2,462,752 2/1949 Kotches et a1 239-318 X 2,624,619 1/1953 Fletcher et al 137-604 X 3,039,429 6/1962 Brucker 137-604 X 3,186,643 6/1965 George et a1 239-318 FOREIGN PATENTS 167,900 3/ 1921 Great Britain.

WILLIAM F. ODEA, Primary Examiner.

D. H. LAMBERT, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A SHOWER HEAD VALVE, COMPRISING: (A) A VALVE BODY HAVING AN INLET, AN OUTLET, A FLOW PASSAGE THEREBETWEEN, A VALVE CORE SOCKET TRAVERSING IN SAID FLOW PASSAGE AND AN ECCENTRICALLY LOCATED PORT EXTENDING AXIALLY FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID SOCKET; (B) A VALVE CORE ROTATABLE IN SAID SOCKET AND INCLUDING A WEB MOVABLE BETWEEN A POSITION COPLANAR WITH THE AXIS OF SAID FLOW PASSAGE AND A POSITION AT RIGHT ANGLES THERETO, SAID WEB HAVING AN ORIFICE THEREIN, ADAPTED TO ALIGN WITH SAID FLOW PASSAGE, SAID VALVE CORE HAVING A CYLINDRICALLY SHAPED BASE PORTION SEALINGLY RECEIVED IN THE BOTTOM OF SAID SOCKET WITH AN ECCENTRICALLY LOCATED AXIALLY EXTENDING ASPIRATOR PASSAGE FORMED THEREIN AT THE DOWNSTREAM SIDE OF SAID WEB ADJACENT SAID ORIFICE, IN THE REGION OF NEGATIVE PRESSURE, SAID ASPIRATOR PASSAGE BEING MOVABLE ON ROTATION OF SAID VALVE CORE INTO AND OUT OF REGISTRY WITH SAID ECCENTRIC PORT TO ALTERNATELY ESTABLISH AND INTERRUPT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID PORT AND THE FLOW PASSAGE; (C) AND MEANS FOR SUPPLYING A FLUID TO SAID ECCENTRIC PORT FOR FLOW THROUGH SAID ASPIRATOR PASSAGE AND ENTRAINMENT IN WATER FLOWING THROUGH SAID ORIFICE. 